Personal vehicles generally provide a flexible form of transportation for commuters and passengers within urban environments. However, owning and operating a personal vehicle can be expensive when costs for the vehicle, fuel, insurance, and maintenance are factored in. In addition, personal vehicles increase congestion and pollution in urban environments. Public transit systems, including buses, trains, subways, etc., that operate on a fixed schedule, provide alternate lower cost options for commuters. Shared transportation options reduce in-city congestion and improve air quality. However, a commuter may have limited flexibility in terms of departure and arrival times, as well as departure and arrival locations.
Another shared transportation option that provides a good mix of flexibility, cost, ease of use, and environmental impact is a shared vehicle system. Therein, a fleet of vehicles are distributed over an operating zone (e.g., a city) and a user can rent any vehicle of the fleet for a short period (e.g., a few hours of a day). Once a user account is set up, the user can identify a vehicle he or she wishes to rent based on its location within the operating zone, and rent the vehicle without requiring additional paperwork. The user can then return the vehicle to the point of origin or drop off the vehicle at an alternate location, per the user's convenience. The shared vehicle system reduces the user's commuting costs while also reducing in-city congestion and pollution. At the same time, the ability to pick-up and drop-off a vehicle at a time and location determined by the user increases the user's flexibility.
However, shared vehicle systems can present congestion and air quality problems. For example, if the shared vehicle is used in urban environments at times and locations where high traffic volumes one-way travel limitations, etc., are present, the shared vehicle may itself contribute to the congestion and pollution. In addition, intermittent relocation of shared vehicle may have to be performed to ensure that vehicles are evenly distributed through an operating zone and not clustered in only one area. In other words, the vehicle distribution may have to be rebalanced. The rebalancing may cause vehicles to be driven long distances, adding to emissions.